Misplaced and Dangling Modifiers

Learning Goal: In this lesson, you will learn how to avoid misplaced and dangling modifiers in your writing.

A misplaced modifier is a word or phrase that appears to modify the wrong word. To avoid misplaced modifiers, position modifying words or phrases as close as possible to the word they modify.

Examples: Misplaced: Jason showed me the report that he wrote on trees. Correct: Jason showed me the report on trees that he wrote.

A dangling modifier modifies a word that is implied, but not actually stated, in the sentence. Dangling modifiers are a common error in sentences beginning with a modifying phrase. To fix a dangling modifier, you may have to rephrase the sentence.